Jailhouse Rocked Out!
by iTrick
Summary: Sequel to Sleight Out of Hand. What happens what a young girl's idol and hero was sent to jail? Who does she become? Will he except her? Who can she trust? Find out!
1. Great Sacrifice

Chapter 1: Great Sacrifice

Headlines Post Today:

" Luke Blade, Illusionist, has been sent to jail today in the killings of three local citizens. It claims it revenge, but the court thought otherwise. This magician will not be breaking out any time soon. Police officials say that they spotted him on E. 100th street dangling miss Sylvia Winthrop upside down, while tied to a strait jacket, mouth covered. More on this story on page E3. "

Loren read the headlines with shock. She couldn't believe it. She had been in the same city, local state and living across the street from Sylvia. Was it possible? Her favorite magician caught at the scene?

She rubbed her eyes harshly and proceeded to read the rest of the headline on E3. There, they shown a picture of the prisoner, Luke Blade, in handcuffs and a rather plump police man in the background holding him by his arm. Loren dreaded the day she would read this headline, but what could she do?

Not much. She was just a 16 year old trapped in this low life house in New York.

The girl rubbed her eyes again. Allergy season was definitely coming, she could feel it. Shortly after, she took the newspaper again and folded it up. Coming to her feet from sitting on the porch in front of her apartment, she just about opened the door when suddenly a man stepped out.

He was her stepfather, Mike. Mike was a very skinny tanned man, who looked like he hadn't shaved for about a week. He sure felt the same way against Loren.

Mike shown his teeth and grasped Loren's dark hair firmly. "What the Hell are you doing out here? I thought I told you to stay inside!"

"I-I know, but…" Loren tried to explain without getting a second beating the same day.

"But nothing! Stay inside!"

Mike threw her into their apartment again and slammed the door. It seemed the old rickety apartment shook entirely, or just throughout the hallways. Loren was a bit shaky now. Setting the newspaper on the glass table which had been shattered a bit in the corners from Mike, she went straight back to the kitchen.

Loren could hear from behind her, the man ripping up their paper quickly and messy.

Deep inside, however, she could still feel the emptiness that still felt for dear Luke. Her idol crushed by revenge and sent to jail. She fell silent in thoughts.

After washing her dishes about a half an hour later, Loren heard Mike once more, screaming at her little brother, Andy. She didn't know what he was yelling about this time, and she wasn't prepared to find out.

Loren stepped into the living room once more and looked for things to do or pretend to do. Finally, Mike stood outside his bedroom yelling something about "Never do it again," to the small Andy.

Later that night…

Loren laid awake in her bedroom deep within the night. It was around 1:30 a.m. now and she still was wondering what Luke was probably thinking right now. Probably a lot of things like: anger, sadness, reminiscence of the past, things like that.

There was a knock at the door. It opened slightly to reveal Andy and his small blanket that he carried around with him often. Since he was about 6 years old, that was allowed much for him.

"Hey Andy," Loren said, sitting up in her bed. She opened her covers a little bit so Andy could jump inside.

"Loren," Little Andy murmured, "I'm scared. Look what Mike did to me. It hurts real bad." There shown on his small fragile arms a large black bruise.

"Oh, let me see it," Loren said, almost shocked. Andy laid down on her pillow a cuddled up to Loren. "I'll fix it in the morning, okay? For now, I give it a kiss." She did so.

As Andy slowly fell asleep with dreadful tears of quiet pain, Loren had still been awake. Luke. That's basically all was on her mind. Though, the pain of Andy's was first. She felt extremely bad to what was happening with him. Why?

The door slammed on the apartment. It was their Mother, Theresa. She was a dark haired woman, like Loren, but more pale on her drunk days like today. She could tell that she was running into desks and chairs as they fell over. Loren tried desperately to keep Andy from awakening.

The light turned on in the hallway, and soon Loren's bedroom. Andy awoke with a small blinding eyes. Theresa slurred a bit before speaking.

"S-S-Stupid k-kids. Go to the-the MOON. Now SLEEP." their dear mother told them. As the woman shut off the light and slammed the door, Mike awoke as well. With their little ordeal of fighting, Loren now really couldn't fall asleep. Andy, on the other hand, fell asleep fast. Screaming could be heard and slapping and hitting also.

Loren didn't feel too bad. This happened practically every night, except Andy would be in his own room. Normally, he wouldn't dare to move.

It was now going on 2:00 a.m. Luke. Luke. Luke. Why couldn't she get him out of her head? Looking out her window to her right, she saw police car sirens flashing over head, heading straight to her apartment. Now, the sound of the car and pounding coming up the stairs.

The pound of the door came from her apartment. And with that, a flood of police men scattered each room. Someone must of called the cops on them again. The opened the door to Loren's room and she tried to look as frightened as possible so they would either leave, take her away, or plainly arrest her so-called parents.

Sadly, the did two of the above. In separate police cars, the took Loren to the police station and her parents to another for questioning.

Loren sat in the lobby with Andy right next to her. Every time a police men would pass, an awkward stare would beam at them like deer in headlights… just them staring at her. It was rather odd, really.

Then a thought hit her. The jailhouse wasn't too far from this place. It was only down the hall and to the right. Maybe if she went down real low, they wouldn't catch her. Tapping Andy on the shoulder, she whispered to him gently, "Follow me."

And away they went. The followed the long hallway. A fellow police men that came into their room came up behind them, just before they hid in an empty office. Andy made a face at him while Loren just gave a slight chuckle.

A large sign over head read "Jail House." Loren went over to the door with high hopes to bust Luke out before new head lines read he was in for another 10 years just before…

Damn. Locked. Her hopes suddenly shattered into a million pieces.

Looking around, she needed a diversion. She smiled with a funny look in her eye. The suit rack was to her left and the door was absent-mindedly left open. Taking one of the uniforms and slipping it on, she thought to herself she didn't look much different.

She remembered once before she was told that she looked older than she really was. Who knows? She could pull it off. Taking Andy by the hand, she told him to follow her lead… if Andy really knew what that was. He just gave a nod.

Loren smiled and waited for one of the cops to come out of the office. Giving a cough, she managed it. One did, and it was a women as well.

"Um, excuse me, Miss…uh…" Loren said, trying to make her voice seem a little mature.

"Fredericks…" said the women.

"Right, Fredericks. I was showing little Andy here to the Jail House. He's always wanted to be a cop, but never has the time. I was just wondering if you had the keys."

"Ah, little boys and their giant imaginations. Maybe you should show him to the guy in Cell Block B. Man, does he have a giant imagination. It would be time to grow up for that kid. What was his name? Blade, I think. Luke," the cop said, just then she could see the intensity of Loren's eyes, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. I'm fine. Now, do you have the keys," she insisted, trying not to seem eager.

Fredericks nodded and opened the Jail House. Loren gave greeting nod of thanks and entered in, trying to contain her excitement and thrill.

Cell Block B? Cell Block B. It was closest to the middle.

Loren stopped at the man who had been arrested just a day ago, a man by the name of Luke Blade.

He sat, sadly, leaning up against the wall, with his arms resting over his knees. He looked up with his hair covering his deep eyes and almost seemed to have anger rise above him.

Loren gulped. It was the first time she met her inspiration, yet she was still in uniform. She cleared her throat. "H-Hi, Mr. Blade."

Luke said nothing.

* * *

Alright, that's the first chapter! Many others to come. I know that the main characters of CSI: NY are not approachable at the moment, but they shall come! Hope you like it.

Oh! I also do NOT own Luke Blade, but every other character. When the main characters of CSI: NY come about, I do NOT own them either.

Comments?


	2. Jailhouse Murmurs

Chapter 2: Jail House Murmurs

Loren stood silent. Loosening her uniform tie, she walked up the cell's bars.

Luke went into his usual sadness, back at the ground. He barely looked at Loren at all, and tried to ignore the fact that he was caged. This time, it wasn't an escape.

Loren kept Andy back at the other side by the wall. She walked up to Luke cautiously. The girl figured the first time she'd actually meet her inspiration, she wouldn't be in a jail house and not be this afraid of him before.

She opened her mouth to release silent air, which were opposed to using words. It felt as if a giant hole was within her gut and felt she was going to puke. Taking another step forward and now grasping onto the bars, Loren opened her mouth again.

"M-Mr. Blade?" she said again, this time with more curiosity. Once again, the man looked up at her and swallowed. He looked down at his hands rested on his knees and murmured a silent, "What?"

Loren jumped a little at the sound of his voice. Her palms were starting to get sweaty and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop shaking.

She said nothing. What was there to say?

Now Luke tried hard to sound calm. He knew she wasn't a real cop, she didn't even look that old to be in college yet. He let out a soft sigh and looked away from her once more.

Loren bit her lip and looked down at him with sad eyes. "Mr. Blade, I'm Loren Cromwell a-and this is my brother, Andy." she said hopefully giving him some reassurance.  
Luke twisted his jaw and looked back up at her. "I was h-hoping if, uh, I could help you in … any way."

Luke held a straight face, no facial expressions changed. Loren felt a bit better. She didn't know how she could help, but it was worth a try.

Suddenly, Andy tugged at the bottom of her shirt. Two police officers came in, holding flashlights.

"Hey, you two. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the lobby!" one of them said as they took both Andy and Loren by their shoulders and escorted them out. Loren tried to stay, but it wasn't worth the trouble by the two.

Hopefully, Luke heard all she had to say.

A few hours later, Loren was dressed back into original pajamas and Andy stayed close to her at all time. The officers now kept close watch of them both which was more than a deer in headlights, it was her, standing alone in the headlights.

She sighed and scratched her long dark brown hair. Andy, who had fallen asleep in the chair beside her, moved over a bit and rested his head on her arm. Slowly, but surely, her arm began to fall asleep as well.

Loren didn't care. It was now about 5 a.m. and she barely gotten any sleep, even any. Her parents probably wouldn't return, they would probably have to go to the orphanage down the road.

Though, that was the least of her problems. Luke. What was going to happen to him? The lobby lights seemed to dim down a bit now. Many officers still scavenged around the place like it was five in the afternoon.

Loren rested her head on her arm when she saw something that worried her the most. She saw a police officer holding the same arm like in the photos: Luke's. They took him into some room and sat him down. She started to tremble like she had before when she talked to him.

Trying to stay still so Andy could sleep, Loren leaned over to see where he had went. Suddenly, yelling seemed to be coming from there, but not from Luke's, however. It was, the officer? Whatever it was, Luke was probably getting some kind of unusual punishment.

Silence.

The next thing she knew, the door slammed outward and Luke fell forward, almost tripping. He was handcuffed, like Loren saw in the pictures, and he was heading back the jail house with the police men pushing him from behind. Luke seemed content with it. He walked gradually back to the house, but not fast enough for the officer to follow.

Loren felt bad now. Her entire gut feeling had vanished, but the more she was worried about him, the more she trembled and waited. What if it was her fault that Luke was getting yelled at? Surreptitiously, she slipped her sleeping her arm from under Andy's head and replaced it with his blanket.

She came up to the counter with anger. "Mr.," she started reading his badge, "Delacourt, may I please see someone inside the Jailhouse?"

The man at the counter shook his head. He was a plump man and almost was going bald. A small grin shown upon his face.

Loren was starting to get furious. "Can I please see someone?"

"Heh, no." said Delacourt, "It's way after visiting hours and after your bedtime, Miss. So, stand aside."

Her jaw dropped. After her bedtime?! What did this guy think he was playing at? "Please? M-My uncle is in there… a-and I've been her all frickin' night! Please!" Loren lied. Hopefully, her pity story would work.

Delacourt sighed and acted like he was thinking about it. "For you, Miss, I would say… no." Shattered again.

"B-But I really need to ask him something. Please!" Loren tried one last time. It was continuous and probably annoying this old man, but she needed to get in.

The man thought one last time. "Fifteen minutes, tops. Don't tell anyone I let you. Got it?" he said, strictly. This time, he wasn't fooling around.

"G-Got it, sir."

Delecourt struggled to lift up from his seat. He instructed Loren to follow him, in which she did, closely, all the way to the jailhouse. Once they were there, the officer stared back down at her. Delacourt was about three feet taller than she was, which was predictable.

"Fifteen minutes." he repeated as Loren gave a nod of agreement.

Opening the doors once more, Loren walked in slowly. She remembered exactly where his jail cell had been. Cell Block B. Coming up to him, this time he was laying on the bed, covers over his head.

"M-Mr. Blade?" Loren called to him as he groaned.

"What do you want kid?" Luke answered, muffled from the sheets.

"I-I just … I wanted to know…" she said, getting jumbled in her own words.

Luke pulled the sheets from his head and sat up. He was clearly in the dark and Loren barely saw his shadow. He finally stepped forth toward her, into the light of the house. He grasped the bars with his left hand and stared down at Loren with his original deep eyes.

"Wanted to know… what?" he answered, it now echoed throughout the hallway. Loren jumped again. The tension was building up inside of her, like never before. She tried to gain the confidence she had before, but it didn't seem like it was coming back.

Loren fell silent again. Her mouth was opening, but nothing was coming out but dry air.  
Luke smirked and sat back down at the edge of the bed, whom was now in the mixture of light and dark. "Thought so…" he said to himself as if he were expecting it.

Loren let out a cold breath. Somehow, if it were possible, it felt like her worries seemed to come out with her sigh. She walked up to the bars like he did, same position, and spoke.

"I was just wondering what that was all about… when you went into the room… the w-white room. What was it about?" Loren asked. She didn't necessarily know how to explain what she wanted, but somehow Luke grasped it.

"Just a few minutes ago?" Luke paused. "Officers could be complete jack-asses."

Loren smirked. "W-What did you do to get yourself in this mess?"

He looked up at her and sighed. "Let's just say, they deserved it." he managed to say, straight to the point.


	3. Believe

Alright, I know this is chapter three already and there are no signs of the CSI characters. I've gotten a review about it and a few emails as well.

Don't worry!! They shall be coming! This is the introduction the entire story... and strangely Loren and Luke ARE the main characters. The CSI team will arise to power... if you want to put it that way... ?

0.o

OKAY! On with Chapter 3!!

Chapter 3: Believe

Loren stood there silently waiting for any reply she could muster out of him. However, Luke stayed quiet as did she.

It had been five minutes since she went in there and she didn't want to waste it in silence. A couple minutes went by and it seemed like she was in there for hours. She occasionally sat down, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of his cell.

Luke looked up at Loren, though she didn't seem to notice. She was occupying her time trying to think of new questions, just plainly looking down. He gave a half smirk toward her and spoke.

"I was thinking of what you said to me before," he said, quietly. Loren looked up, this time, not as jumpy nor any tension built.

Loren offered a smirk in relief that he actually heard her. He could probably fool anyone to thinking ignorance.

"You actually listened to me?" she asked him. He nodded slightly.

Luke looked down again. "I saw what you did to try to get here. And I also heard how you tried to persuade Delacourt."

Loren smiled. She started to think she was pretty stupid for doing so, and how much trouble she could probably be getting in at this moment, but did it matter now?

Luke continued. "Question is: What are you doing here?" He lifted his head.

Her gut seemed to deepen again. She didn't want to tell him that he was from an abusive family, but then, it came to her knowledge that maybe he could help her as well.

"My parents were arre--"

"Say no more," he interrupted. "I was like you once. I know what it feels like."

He was? Loren was confused. He never talked about what happened to him before he became famous or even attempted in doing so. Then she started remembering a few things she was told like he was adopted and never had real parents. Was that why?

She looked up at him, almost sadly, but he seemed a bit comforting. Luke leaned against his caged walls and sat prompt up, like he was before when she came. He rested his head on the back and gave out another sigh.

Loren looked for something to say. Thanks, maybe? She didn't know for sure, but she now had the sadness maybe he was feeling. Why was she so beaten up about this? Perhaps it was because she felt bad for him. She didn't care how much she hated her parents, it was just as long as he was happy.

"Listen," Loren started. Gaining confidence once more, she continued. "Is there anything I can do? To help you, that is."

Luke simply said, "Yes."

She stood corrected. Relieved, finally. "What is it then?"

Just before he could give his answer, and it didn't even look like he was preparing to, Delacourt came in.  
"Fifteen minutes is up, little girl," he told her.

Loren looked back at Luke and he gave out a full smirk. "Believe," he told her as she was escorted out.  
As Delacourt led her out of the jailhouse, she glanced over at Luke, whom was now watching her leave, grasping the bars and deep brown eyes gazing at her every move.

When she came out, Andy was still sleeping and every one seemed to go home. Only a few officers walked around, ones she'd never seen yet. New duty, she thought to herself.

She sat next to Andy again, who woke up a little and fell back to sleep. Loren was rather tired herself, but her thoughts were too jumbled up to fall asleep.

Loren thought about the conversation she had with Luke. The last thing he told her was to believe. She began to sink lower in her chair. Believe. It was that small word that kept replaying in her mind over and over again.

Resting her head on her arm, she too eventually fell asleep as well.

"Loren, Loren! Wake up!" Andy said, shaking her up. It was around 8:30 a.m. and there seemed to be over fifty officers around the place, running from room to room. Loren awoke and watched them all pass her by.

Suddenly, a woman addressed herself. "Hello, children. I'm Cynthia Mercado of the St. Bridget's Orphanage Center. I'm sorry to say that you're parents were found guilty as charged without a court agreement. You will be with us for the next few months in order to find an adoptive home."

Loren was first confused about what she was talking about at first and finally grasped the concept. "Wait, what?" She sat up in her seat and Andy jumped up on her lap.

"You'll be staying with us. I'm sure you'll be happy," Mercado told them as she took Andy by the hand and offered a hand over to Loren.

She refused. Getting up on her own, she followed far behind Miss Mercado. Loren was getting sick of the ordeal about the orphanage. It had been her third time this year and every time her parents seemed to come back.

Maybe not this time. They're were in jail now, so they couldn't leave to come get them. Maybe this time, she'll lead a happier life, she kept thinking. Yeah right.

Once Loren and Andy stepped out the cab with Mercado and view St. Bridget's, a man approached them.

"Hello, Cromwell children. I'm Mr. Sinclair, but you can call me Bill. I am the owner of St. Bridget's. I hope you enjoy your time here."

Bill was about Loren's height and very skinny. He had bright orange hair and a five o'clock shadow that seemed to be growing in from yesterday.

Loren looked down at Andy who looked back at her with disgust. She held his hand, whom let go of Mercado's hand as well. They approached the building and very steadily went inside.

The brick building was just a one room flooring with dozens upon dozens of screaming children running around. Loren seemed to be the oldest there. "Oh no," she muttered to herself as she kept walking on.

"Children! This is the Cromwells, Andy and Loren. Please welcome them!" Bill shouted to the other orphans as they stopped playing around and froze. They all chanted at the same time:

"Hi, Andy and Loren" then giggling could be heard as they went back to their original play.

Andy ran off with the other children who were bouncing a ball together. Loren, on the other hand, walked slowly within the children who were scattered underneath her feet.

She sat down on a brown, once white, couch and looked worriedly at the others. A headache was growing upon her and wondered how long she could be in there for.

Loren looked around. Nothing. Resting her head on the back of the couch, she tried to fall asleep again. With the screaming kids, it seemed impossible. Then it hit her. _Oh no. What about Luke?_

Guilt swept over her. She was supposed to help him. Believe. The word came to mind again. How was this supposed to happen?

Luke wanted her to believe. It all made sense last night, how come it didn't now? Loren came down to a slouch and sighed. Just like it didn't seem to get any worse, Bill started up to her with something behind his back.

"Here, read this. You'll get through it." he told her as he handed her the local newspaper. He gave a small smile and headed off into the door closest to her, probably his office.

Loren stuck her tongue out at him and gave a grudge. She picked up the paper and read the front page. Her eyes widened. The newspaper headline read:

PRISONER FROM NEW YORK JAIL HOUSE ESCAPED!

Former illusionist Luke Blade escaped from New York jail house last night. "No one seen him escape," says the local officials, "Everything was put into place. The cell block door was closed and no holes or tunnels were made."  
If you see this man[inserts picture, please call 911 immediately.  
Blade is put under the category of very dangerous. Stay alert, New York.


	4. Familiar Promises

Chapter 4: Familiar Promises

Loren smiled. It seemed like she hadn't felt this happy in awhile. In the darkness of this old rugged down orphanage, a light was shown, like she would be happy wherever she was at. However, that wasn't the case.

Her smile died down to the thought of never seeing him again. But didn't she say that she didn't care what happened as long as HE was happy? It felt like he was the one who understood her, unlike her parents or those before them.

She felt deep inside a hole inside her stomach. This was when she kind of wished she was back home with her parents trying to deal with whatever life threw at her. Loren reread the article. He escaped and that's all that mattered. Believe.

It came back to her. _Did he escape because she believed in him? It was hard to say if it really was the case. He did mean it when he said it, right?_ Loren began thinking. _Of course, why would he joke around? _

Loren looked out the rusted filled window. She had gotten up and leaned over it, to see the sidewalk below her and the rest of New York. Wherever he was, she was sure he was having the time of his life.

Just then, Andy came to her almost in tears. He tapped Loren on the arm and sniffed.

"Loren!" he said, muffled, "T-The ball hit my bruised arm! It hurts!"

Loren looked at it and picked him up into her arms. She walked up to the room where Bill entered through and knocked at the door. "Mr. Sinclair! Bill!"

Bill opened the door with a slight look on his face and quickly closed the door. Loren gazed at the door in utter shock that she just had a door slammed in her face. What was that about?

Finally, Bill opened the door once more and smiled rather nervously. "Sorry about that, kids. What can I do for you?"

Loren took a breath of tension and sighed. "Do you have any ice? My brother here has a bruise and it starting to swell a bit."

Bill stared blankly at her for a moment. "Of course. One moment."

About fifteen minutes later, Andy stopped crying and felt completely better. Bill didn't even come out with the ice like requested.

Loren sat back on the couch again and watched the kids run around once more. It was now around 9:30 a.m. She finally made her first hour in this joint and she was already getting a massive migraine like never before. Do these kids ever tire out?

Andy was now playing with the dinosaur stuffed animals with a couple of other kids by the names of Danny and Michelle. He seemed to have fun unlike some of them.

Loren rested her head on her knee and tried to think of what to do for the next few months of her life. Who knows, it might be a few weeks. She tried to think of what she could do if she was ever adopted. What would Andy do if he was adopted to a new family? Loren couldn't stand the thought of that one. Maybe he would forget about her. Tears started forming within her eyes as she sadly thought of her next few weeks or months inside this joint.

It was a waste of life. She had better things to see than this. Loren started to think what great life could be when she turned 18 and can live off herself. Two years.

The next day seemed to be worse. The night she slept in was when all the kids seemed to be sore from playing all day, one started crying menacingly, the other wet the bed and so on and so forth.

Loren didn't even get out of her bunker. She just kept her head under the pillow very tightly to block out any sound. That's just when Miss Mercado approached her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Loren replied to it lifting her head up with tired, heavy eyes.

"Hello, Loren. Are you alright? You don't look too well."

Of course she wasn't alright. If you were the oldest of all living breathing snot nosed kids you would be just peachy. "No, Miss Mercado, I'm not," Loren said putting the pillow over her head again, just when Miss Mercado took it away from her.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"No. Can I just sleep, please?" Loren asked, trying to fall back to sleep.

Mercado nodded and left, throwing the pillow back down at her. Loren was fed up with these people already and it was only one day. It seemed Andy was enjoying himself. Good for him.

Loren yawned and tried to get up from the bed. She looked around and she was the only one within the bedrooms. Andy must've been at breakfast.

She walked out of the bunkers and headed into the main hallway.

Suddenly, the door of Bill's office closed, but not all the way. It was creaked open just so she could see and hear what was going on without their knowledge.

His office was a yellowish brown color with many portraits hanging around. She could see Bill straight ahead, but she couldn't make out the other man. The man was dressed in a black boulder hat with a ponytail hanging out the end of it. He was also wearing a black trench coat, even if it was over 70 degrees outside.

Loren eavesdropped.

"Cromwells, my good man?" Bill replied, almost confusingly.

"Yes, sir. Miss Loren Cromwell and… uh… Alex is it?" the man repeated with a nod of his head.

"Andy, sir." Bill corrected.  
"Ah, yes. Andy Cromwell."

"They've only been here a day. Are you sure you want to take them?" Bill asked, almost acting like they could let them go.

Loren watched and listened closely. The man speaking could almost be made out as her step dad, but unlike this man, he wasn't slurring and yelling every word he could muster.

"Alright, just sign here sir." Bill asked of him, handing him a pen.

She stood worried. Loren and Andy was being adopted by someone she hadn't known. What if it's one of these work camps? She would never survive. And Andy. He wouldn't make it either. Strong weights hit her shoulder as she ran over to Andy, taking him away from his new friends.

"Hey, Andy, can I talk to you for a second?" Loren asked taking him by the hand.

"Yeah. Hold on, guys," he told his friends before being dragged away.

Loren sighed before speaking. She didn't know how she would tell him. "Hey, Andy. Um, I-I overhead the owner. We're being adopted."

"Adopted? Is Mommy here?" Andy asked with large eyes and excitedly.

"No," said Loren.

Andy's eyes started tearing up. She couldn't help his sadness or maybe it was tears of joy? She couldn't tell. Loren tried hard to comfort him.

He didn't want to be. He just plainly walked back with his friends, rather sadly. Loren felt bad. He was young, he didn't need to be put under this kind of pressure!

As she did before, Loren sat back on the couch in which she started with yesterday. She let out another sigh and groaned. That just made her think of Luke when she tried talking to him again. He groaned the exact same way.

Trying to think positive, she watched the children pass by. No more children running around screaming in her ear. No more Miss Mercado and Bill, and finally no more…

Was she getting out of New York? Loren prayed not. She couldn't stand going into another city or state for that matter.

A couple hours later, Bill approached her and smiled. "I have good news! You're adopted by the Edalb family!" Loren watched him closely. He seemed almost happy about it. He seemed too jumpy for his own good. Was she already too much of a problem?

"I-I'll go get Andy," she reassured, standing up and heading over to Andy's way, tapping him on the shoulder and bringing him over. He began to get red in the face, like he would right before he would start crying.

Just then, the man from before with the boulder hat approached them with a grin. She couldn't see his eyes, since the hat was so close over them.

"This is Mr. Edalb. Loren, Alex. Run along now," Bill said, taking them quickly out of St. Bridget's.

"My name is Andy," said Andy, with deep eyes and a little frustration as Bill just plainly smiled.

Once they were out, Edalb called a cab and stepped inside. That followed by Loren and Andy.

"Where are we going?" Loren asked, curiously.

"None of your business," said the man next to her. Loren trembled a little bit, nervously. He seemed kind of uptight in her opinion.

About three minutes later inside the smelly old cab with the foreign driver who barely spoke English, the three of them got out in front of a large apartment building that looked familiar. It was her parents' building.

"Is this where you used to live?" Edalb asked.

"Y-Yeah. Why?" Loren said.

"Go ahead. You know where it's at."

Loren carried Andy who tried to sleep on her shoulder until they got into their building. "It's right here." she told the man as he opened the door.

Edalb looked around as he entered. It was very trashed from when her mother knocked over everything. "Home sweet home," he muttered to himself. Almost instantly, he turned to Loren and Andy. "Go get anything you think you'll need."

She obeyed. She set Andy down on his old bed and went into her bedroom. Loren found an old suitcase she used once when she was twelve to the Ohio trip with her parents. It was a bit ripped, but it worked for both her and her brother.

Loren was almost afraid of their new guardian. _We think we'll need?_ What was that supposed to mean?

Loren packed quickly and took Andy with her to the living room. Suddenly, when she walked into the living room, she recognized a familiar face.

She dropped her suitcase in shock.

It was Luke Blade!


	5. Get Down

Chapter 5: Get Down

Luke took off his trench coat and messed up his hair again. He was dressed almost the exact same way he would like nothing happened in jail. It was obvious he didn't realize Loren was standing in the doorway.

"Luke?" Loren said, almost instantly. She swallowed and in shock that he had come for her and her brother. Luke spun around and offered another smirk.

"You helped me. I thought I'd return the favor," he told her, very passively. Luke sat down on one of the scratched up chairs and made himself comfortable. Loren sat next to him, only on the couch with Andy on her lap.

Loren looked over at Luke, and he looked pretty tired. She, too, was tired herself but she had the feeling of being watched every which way she went, especially if she were with Luke. Breaking the small silence, she spoke. "So," she started, "How'd you find me?"

Luke gazed at her with heavy eyes. "Guessed. It was kind of obvious," he stated. Then again, to him it was probably obvious. If she wasn't there, she was either at the orphanage or at home.

"Mr. Blade," Loren started again. Luke sighed.

"What?" he said, calmly.

"Thanks." said Loren with a light voice. Afterwards, she took Andy into his room and shut the door. Luke watched her leave and smiled. He was as thankful as she was, but sadly enough, he didn't want to admit it.

When Loren came back, it was dead quiet in the house. Nothing was stirring, except her. It was one of those moments it felt like a movie, like something epic should happen. Then again, it was just very peaceful.

Coming into the living room, she saw Luke had finally fallen asleep. She smiled. Loren took the blanket that was upon the couch and placed it on top of him. Giving a sigh, she went to the cracked dining room table to find the ripped up newspaper and some blank paper. Taking the pen from the kitchen, she drew meaningless drawings until she, herself, had fallen asleep too.

Later that night, Luke had awaken. He sat up, yawned, and looked around to see where he was at. At first, it was an unfamiliar territory, then he realized where he was when he saw Loren at the table and Andy sitting on the floor watching television.

Andy looked over at Luke and waved. He gave a small smirk, a nod of acknowledgement, and rubbed his eyes. Finally, he stood up and looked around once more. When he walked over to Loren, he realized how long he actually been asleep. At least five and a half hours, at the most. It was about 6 p.m.

As he passed Loren by, he tapped her up until she jerked up fully. "Huh? I'm awake, I'm awake," Loren said, looking like she was actually talking to someone. Looking behind her, she saw Luke walking back into the living room, with his boots tapping every time he took a step.

He sat next to Andy, except on the couch as well, almost where Loren was sitting before. As she woke up, she stood and stretched a little and walked into the living room. "Hey," Loren said, sitting next to Luke at the end of the couch.

Luke said nothing. He watched the television of a little bit and seemed to completely ignore her.

Loren shrugged and watched television as well. Andy was watching his normal night cartoons and laughing at almost every joke possible. After a few minutes of sitting down, the telephone rang.

She sat up and went over to it and picked it up off the receiver. "Hello?" Loren greeted.

"Hello. Is Mrs. Cromwell present?" said a man with a extremely deep voice. It almost seemed familiar, but she couldn't be too sure.

"No. But this is her daughter. Can I help you?" she started to get a little nervous now.

"Well, this is New York Police Department and ---"

A sharp pain pierced through Loren's chest. NYPD?! What if they were in search of Luke? Almost a thousand 'what ifs' popped into her head and most of them dealt with Luke.

"Miss? Are you still there? Hello?" said the man, rapidly.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I'm still here," Loren told him nervously, "Uh. Can you repeat the last part?"

"Yes, Miss Cromwell. I'm Sergeant Todd Krumski of the S.W.A.T. Team for NYPD. We're in search for the escaped criminal Luke Blade. If you have any information of his whereabouts, please call us immediately. And stay alert. We're having an shut down of New York streets in about ten minutes. Any questions?" he said, strictly. Loren nodded a little bit.

"N-No, sir," Loren replied and hung up the phone. Both Andy and Luke gave a shot up at Loren whose nervous level was way up.

"What was that about?" Luke said out of the silence. Loren sat next to him again and rested her head on her knees.

"They said that they're were looking for you. They told me to give any information about you immediately," she answered, muffled and tearing up.

Luke looked down at her. He could see she was on the verge of crying, even though she kept strong and held it in. "You didn't, did you?" Luke asked, quietly.

Loren shook her head. "Of course not," she looked up at him with blood-shot eyes, "I told you I'd help you, didn't I? I promised myself I would."

Andy crawled onto her lap. He gave her a brief hug and told her in a small voice it was going to be alright. Luke gave a nod toward her. "Listen, we'll leave in the morning. It's no big deal." he comforted.

Of course, to him, it was no big deal, but to Loren it was a huge deal. She was with a convict that killed two people and escaped. What else could she do? She tried to stay strong, but that large pain within her gut kept telling her to call the police.

Loren choked. "Alright."

The next morning, Luke woke Loren and Andy up around 5:30 in the morning. They both, Loren and Andy, had gotten dressed quickly and head out the door before the sun came up. There were no cars on the street, just police walking and driving around with flashlights.

It was hard to escape them, but in a way, the managed to. They made it so they would be in the woods behind the apartments, where it seemed no police officer dared to look yet. They walked to about the outskirts of E. 100th street where Luke almost killed his last victim.

They said nothing most of the way. Andy started complaining that he had to use the bathroom after awhile until Loren had picked him up and carried him. About a half an hour later, Luke sped up in front up them, and were about 40 feet ahead. Loren tried to keep up, but it didn't seem to help.

Once the sun started to rise, the police count decreased in the area.

Suddenly, the came to a close call with the end of the woods and into a large building. Luke stopped in back of a tree and hid close behind it. Loren and Andy had did the same, with other trees. Loren couldn't make out what the building was used for, but it couldn't have been good.

Police cars surrounded the large place and some outside with guns and the S.W.A.T. team also was there.

"What now?" Loren whispered over to him.

"Wait here," Luke instructed as he ducked down behind different police cars and watched them closely. With the wave of his hand, he told Loren and Andy to come as well. They popped their heads from behind the police cars and watched the building closely.

There were many messages coming from the car they were by and some even gave messages about the building. To Loren's point of view, it seemed like they said they found a follower of Luke Blade.

They exchanged glances and kept listening closely. The messages kept coming from one lady who had a nasally voice and this is what she said:

"The building of E. 120th and Sprague Rd. Luke Blade is known to be inside, we have the S.W.A.T. team searching now. Sergeant Krumski leading. Code 2.34.9. Red. Give updates, Sir, copy. Do you read me? Over."

Once again, they exchanged glances. Loren found it funny that they said they found Luke inside the building, even when he was standing right next to her. She didn't show it, but deep inside, she was giggling.

Loren had almost forgotten about last night and her sudden break down. She found it dumb now, and it was all in her past. She was now determined to help Luke escape out of there.

They watched the officers run out. Luke ducked down farther, to the point where only his eyes were showing. "Hawkes," he whispered, as if he recognized one of the officers. Loren had no idea what he could've been talking about at the time, just before ---

"FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND DON'T MOVE!" screamed an officer from behind them. All three of them turned around and put their hands up. Andy started thinking it was some kind of game they were playing.

"Aha, Mr. Luke Blade," said the man with a gun pointed straight at Luke. Many S.W.A.T. team officers held their guns up toward him and Loren as well.

"Mac," Luke said, remembering him from the last time they met. He was the man who shot Sylvia's tank in order to save her. A wave of fury swept him over.

One of the members of S.W.A.T. came closer and said, "GET ON THE GROUND NOW! NOW!"

He did as instructed to. They quickly handcuffed Luke and pulled him up by his hand and the neck of his shirt. Right then, they took Loren by the arm fiercely and put her into the car. They put Andy with her, as well as Luke.

All the officers figured they might was well go in the building, too, and find the man who claimed to be Luke. They did and screaming could be heard from inside.

Loren sighed. "S-Sorry," she said, sadly. Her hopes and self-esteem were completely down now. Luke down at her and it seemed all his fury went down as well.

"For what?" he asked.

"I didn't mean for this to happen at all. It's all my fault. I --"

"No, it's not your fault. Like I said, cops are jack-asses. They figure they can do what they want." Luke reassured, trying to keep Loren as positive as possible. That's when a thought came to Loren.

"Hey, Mr. Blade. I have an idea. Why don't we just… drive out of here?" she said with a grin as she pointed to the keys in the front seat. The problem was, she couldn't get to the front since the back was caged in.

The car was also locked from the inside. It almost seemed impossible.

"That's not a bad idea…" Luke said, with his eyes bright. He looked over at Loren, who also exchanged. Just then, a bullet went right though the car, hitting no one, and hit the cage knocking most of the pieces down.

"The irony of what just happened," Loren said, jokingly as she made her way through the cage. She sat down and looked around. Turning the key, she heard Luke managed to say "You know how to drive, don't you?"

"I-I hope so," she said, as she switched gears and put it in drive. They quickly sped out from the building complexes, almost managing to hit several cars on the way.

"Turn the siren on!" Andy screamed as he laughed all the way.

Loren tried to find the switch to and accidentally hit the wind shield wipers. She pressed the button again, and it stopped. That's when she hit the radio and it blasted, and then it finally hit the siren. Turning down the radio, she sighed in relief.

"Where to?" Loren asked. Luke smirked, from what Loren could see in the rear view mirror.

"Anywhere," he said, softly.

* * *

Aha! Mac has come !! Well, sort of. 

The CSI characters will DEFINITELY have a larger role in the next chapter.  
Well, I hope you like this one.

Please give some reviews !! They're looking a little lonely.


	6. The Crash

Chapter 6: The Crash

The police men gave it about fifteen minutes before they realized the three escaped from their grip. Now more than ever, police officers scattered the area, especially around New York City Times Square.

The group: Loren, Andy, and Luke were now on the West side of New York City on some dirt road. It was a couple hours later that they realized they were being look for when a police men drove past them, rather quickly talking to his radio frantically.

In the next few hours however, they did manage to make it to a place called Secaucus. Loren was starting to get a little flinch when she saw how far she made it. Nervous as she was, Andy didn't seem to feel a thing; he just hummed brightly looking out the window. Luke, on the other hand, had the same straight face while looking out the window as well.

Loren kept wondering how long this high way must've been, since there wasn't any cars or anything coming or going past. Every few miles or so, there was a barn, a few cows and such.

She looked down at her speed quickly. Squinting her eyes from the sun beating down on the police car, she wondered a bit. "Um, Luke," she said, quietly.

Luke looked up at her, quickly and blinked. "What?"

Questionably, she spoke, "How long does a car go without any gas?"

He twisted his jaw again. He sat up and looked through the bullet - holed cage. Though, he did struggle a little bit, since he was still cuffed, but made it within a second. "How long has it been up?"

"For the past three miles," she answered, almost guiltily. Luke raised his eyebrows and sighed.

"Uh, well, bad news, kid." Luke said, coldly.

Loren looked over at him, as he looked back, and sat back with his hands still behind his back.

Not looking at the road, she almost slid off the road and that's when she could of swore she hit something. Jerking back forward to the road again, she was off of it and the car was shaking rapidly. Hearing crashes definitely coming from behind her and the front inside the hood, it began to spark a little when Loren finally realized she had definitely turned off the road and into a fence. The fence broke and landed in a ditch.

The engine started retaining smoke to the point where couldn't see. Finally, it came to a sudden halt from something in front of her.

As the smoke cleared its way a little, Loren coughed. Looking back, she saw Andy crying about his bruise on his arm (he must've hit it) and Luke slouched almost all the way, with his head leaning on the edge of the chair.

"Andy, are you okay?" Loren asked frantically as Andy sat up. His crying seemed more rapid than ever before she had to quickly recover him and calm him. She was really shaky at this point.

Quickly, she took off her seatbelt and reviewed Andy's arm when she checked if Luke was also hurt. Indeed, he was. There was a large cracked window beside him, and there revealed on his forehead, a large cut with blood streaming down his temple.

Loren gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. Before she said anything, Luke responded.

Finally responding, he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Treat your brother," Luke said with a shallow voice.  
Loren struggled to open the policed car driver's door as it fell off its hinges. As she stepped out, she also yanked at Andy's door, which swung open in a heartbeat. He jumped into her arms as she held him.

"It's okay Andy. You'll be just fine, you'll see," Loren told him, comfortingly. Swinging over the back and to Luke's side, she opened his door, which seemed to be a bit jammed. She pulled on it hard enough for it, too, to fall off its hinges with Loren falling over and Andy landing on his feet.

Luke sighed. Loren attempted to help Luke out of the car, but he seemed to refuse. Looking over to her, he seemed to mumble, "I was probably better off in jail."

Sadly, Loren heard him. A bit hurt inside and it felt like a giant fireball hit the pit of her stomach, her heart had dropped. "W-What?"

He barely looked at her. She felt really bad now. "C-C'mon. We got to go. Don't be so down on yourself, will you? We'll go home, okay?" Loren told him softly as she went over to the car. Luke finally glanced over at her.

Luke frowned and nodded. "Fine," he said getting out of the car, still handcuffed. _It must've been pretty tough_, thought Loren as he stepped out.

Loren thought about him for a second. She felt completely bad about what happened, and the blood that had been spilt from his forehead was now down his cheek.

She knew she couldn't abandon him. With all her might, she knew she would help this man. Though, that same feeling started to come when he looked at her that she should still probably call for help.

Just then something hit her. He couldn't abandon her either. It would be against the law in the city of New York. Luke adopted them. He was her father.

Her hopes cheered. Walking past him, she muttered, "K, c'mon, Dad. We have a long way to go!"

Luke stared at her for a second. No, his facial expressions did not change, but he seemed a bit confused. "Dad?"

She turned to him with a smile. "You adopted us, didn't you? C'mon, we have to go."

Finally, with that, he gave a smirk that led to a small smile.

* * *

End of Chapter Six !! I hope you all like it .  
Okay, I know nothing really THAT exciting has happened and the CSI Characters didn't play a large role. Then again, they haven't played a large role yet. Wait a minute, if they didn't end up in this chapter... what about the NEXT chapter? Shoot. 

-checks Chapter Seven-

Alright, not Chapter Seven either.  
BUT, I have good news. I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico !!

Not really. They're kind of rip-offs. But, enough talk about that.  
Chapter Eight is going to be fully dedicated to the CSI characters. Crazy, huh?

Wait, no more Loren, Andy, & Luke? Of course, silly.  
They'll be back. Just at the Crime Scene.

OOPS. I've said too much.


	7. We Won't Get Caught

Okay !! Here's a small point of view of where Loren's coming from. She finally realizes what's going on and Luke's certainly not helping at all.

Remember: Next chapter enters the CSI: TEAM! w00t. Alright. I hope you like this chapter as much as I loved writing it. .

* * *

Chapter 7: We Won't Get Caught

Loren looked around hopelessly, trying to get some view of where they were. It was not familiar to their own surroundings in New York City. They were somewhere on the outskirts, over hundreds of miles away from any civilization. She was surprised this place existed.

She and Luke exchanged glances.

"Okay, well, before we do anything, I say we should try to get the cuffs off. Life would probably be a lot easier." Loren proposed, breaking the silence within the group. Since Andy sat bored beside the burned out car, the heat was probably getting to him.

"Do you know anything I can use that would break them?" she continued. Luke leaned up against the car next to Andy and looked up at the sky, moving his head a little to get the hair out of his eyes. Loren felt a bit discouraged that he was ignoring her everytime she said something. Maybe letting him out was a bad thing.

_No, it wasn't. Was it? Uh-oh._

Loren's heart dropped suddenly. Her mind was filled with doubts and what if's and maybe's. She helped him, wasn't it enough? He helped her, he must've felt the same way. She couldn't help but get a little angry at herself. As she was looking for some kind of large rock to find her or perhaps a saw to magically appear, Loren's eyes began to swell and become glassy.

The entire time, she had not turned toward Luke as for it would cause her head to hurt from all doubts inside.

Andy sat quietly, picking at the string that was hanging off the end of his pants. All you heard was quiet breathing coming from all three of them.

As Luke sat with his hands still behind his back, he giving some last thoughts. Was it right for him to go?

Yes. He was quite thankful than Loren thought. Next to his fans, he never had someone care for him that much, and for the fact he never thought he would adopt kids that let him go. Luke sighed and watched Loren search for something that would never stand out.

Next thing he knew, something wet trickled down the palm of his hand. It started to burn rapidly and only if he could check to see what was happening. He figured it was another cut from the wreck, next to the one on his head that was still burning his forehead, giving a small sharp headache.

"Will this work?" Loren said in a small shaky voice, holding up a medium sized rock, sharp at the end. Luke looked over at her; her face had been a slight shade of pink and her eyes had been glassy and beating.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah." he answered, simply.

Setting his hands behind him on the trunk of the car, Loren went around, holding the rock. With a small sniff, she looked at the rock observing it before striking. Finally, she glanced at the chain connecting his hands together.

"Oh my God. What happened? You didn't try to yank it, did you?" Loren asked, almost shocked at the amount of cuts and blood that were surrounding his wrists. There were several deep senews that were left upon his wrists almost circling around them. Luke shook his head. "Um, okay. J-Just hold still, okay?"

Loren wiped her eyes with the back of her hand from the tears about to blow and sniffed once more. As she lifted her hand to take the first swing at the chain, she felt her tension building and her hands shaking a bit more rapidly than before. "Okay... Here I go."

Taking her first hit, she quickly closed her eyes. She hadn't hit the chain. She missed by several inches on the car, leaving a scratch and a dent.

"Well...?" Luke said as since he felt nothing. Andy kept watch of this. Blood was now dripping upon the trunk of the cop car, easily shown by the whiteness of it. His hands were wet with blood and dried with dirt.

She nodded and swallowed. Her second blow did hit the chain, but only just. A small dent could be seen. Loren hit the chain a third time, but accidently, her hand slipped and hit the skin on his thumb.

Luke clenched his teeth, but tried not to show any pain. Loren quickly dropped the rock and her hands went straight to her mouth. "Are you okay? I didn't mean that, I swear." Loren apologized, muffled by her hands.

"I'm fine. Just concentrate, alright?" Luke said, in a soft voice, trying to strengthen up. She nodded once more and picked up the rock.

Loren aimed it once more and swallowed. Her mouth seemed to dry up in that small gulp._ One... Two... THREE! _

She smacked down so hard that the chain was only on hedges and could be easily broken. Sadly, the rock had broken upon the large dent on the car's trunk.

"O-Okay, I... um, I almost have it. I just need to find another rock," Loren said, looking around at the small pebbles under her tennis shoes. Finally, finding some strange rock that had been dull enough just to break it, she headed over back to the car.

"Hold still, one more hit," reassured Loren as she tried to concentrate. With the heat over 90 degrees (especially in a wide open area) her eye sight began to discinigrate. Everything started to become blurry, but within that few moments, it went back to normal.

With one hit, the chain had finally broken. Luke stood up and looked at his wrists, swearing under his breath.

Loren's tears had come back. She hadn't known what made them, but somewhere deep down inside, she had been suddenly scarred by the presence of Luke Blade. She sat on the opposite side where Andy was sitting, almost disappearing from sight. Andy started to bite his nails again (even though Loren always told him not to!) and headed over her way, sitting next to her.

"Hey, Loren. Are you okay?" Andy said in a small timid voice.

With a small smirk, Loren answered, "Yeah, I guess."

"I would have thought different," Luke said, sitting on the opposite side of Andy, "Something bothering you?"

He sat with his knees a bit bent and his elbows resting upon them, with bleeding broken chained wrists. Loren, however when Luke said this, buried her face into her knees with Andy grasping her arm.

With a slight nod of her head, Loren stood unanswered.

"What's going on?" Luke asked curiously. He didn't know how to react; he never dealt with this kind of situation before.

"Everything." Loren yelled, but it had been muffled by her knees in her face.

"Everything is...?" he asked as he was trying to get a sense of where she was coming from. Somehow, he had been oblivious to what she had dealt with before he showed up.

"You!"

Luke stared at her for a moment. He seemed a bit baffled that he was apart of this problem and whatever was left in him seemed to actually care for her and Andy.

"Oh," he said simply and got up. Andy watched as he did this and he seemed to go pretty far so he almost seemed like a mirage. As Loren sniffed and looked up with blurry eyes of tears, she found Luke farther away.

"Oh no," she murmured as she saw Luke cross armed across the way staring off into the distant acres. Loren quickly had gotten up and walked over to him, with Andy at her feet, taking twice as many steps.

Loren stopped dead behind him. He turned around with a glare and back at the nothingness. What could she do? Absent-mindedly, she found herself wrapped around his arms with a deep hug.

He almost seemed stunned for a second, almost shocked. With one hand, he patted her on the back and swallowed. Loren looked up at him and let go. He stared at her as if he was waiting for something to happen.

"I'm sorry! I have to tell you the truth. But, I need the truth from you," Loren began, "Are you... I mean... Do you think it was worth busting out of jail? Please tell the truth. I'm sort of feeling like... whatever I did that I thought I was helping seemed like nothing to you and I... just... I feel like everything that I've done was meaningless and you feel that you should be back in New York... and..."

"Stop." Luke interrupted. "Take a breath. Everything that you have done was the greatest thing any one has ever done for me."

Loren's lip trembled with a small tear going down her cheek.

He continued, "I'd rather be here than in jail. You actually believed in me. Not even my family, no, not even my foster family could do that. So, please, stop crying. Everything's alright." Luke paused. "Anything else in mind?"

Loren looked down at her feet. There was one more thing...

"I need a little advice actually," she sniffed as she looked him in the eye, "I've been holding this in since you escaped. How... How am I s'pposed to be dealing with an escaped convict? I mean, if we get caught..."

"We won't get caught." Luke reassured.

"How do you know though? How do I even know if you're telling the truth? You killed two people and even tortured one! How am I s'pposed to deal with that?" Loren said, with her voice rising with every sentence.


	8. Are We Alone?

Chapter 8: Are We Alone?

Luke watched her, speechless. He had no way of proving himself to Loren, to prove his trust.

She watched him with weary eyes, almost angry at him than herself. The truth was: she couldn't trust him. Since everyone in his family deserted him, she couldn't leave no matter how hard she tried. Luke had destroyed his family, and if she were to leave, she was afraid she'd be next. It was heartbreaking to just about dedicate her life to this man.

Loren thought why he had been to jail. He had difficulty decifering reality from illusion and killed those who had been betrayed him using his own stunts. Was he still the same? No. Luke had been a bit more cold than when he had been famous for magic. He was almost child-like inside, but to his fans, an adult.

He didn't what to think. Luke stood motionless and emotionless. Closely, he watched as Loren began to walk away with Andy back to the crashed police car. As he stood the words of trust couldn't help but stay in his mind.

Luke wondered if he had been a huge part of Loren's life already. He knew in his heart that she had been in his since his breakout. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She proved herself loyal, but he couldn't prove anything; only that he had been a killer.

A car started to approach them, quickly and zoomed over while slowing down to see the wreck and pressed on. Luke, before hand, realized whom was coming and took the children to the busted and burned barn about 100 ft from them. Loren stood a bit confused and realized what just happened. They all peeked their heads out from behind watching the car as it drove by.

Beforehand at the NYPD Headquarters:

Mac tapped his fingers upon his desk rapidly. His badge sat next to his computer which was tracing familiar files of Luke Blade's disappearance. The car of a local NYPD had been robbed by a girl, a little boy, and a convict.

Stella entered the room with files in her hand. "Any word yet?" she asked as she stepped through the door.

Mac looked up at her with sleepy eyes. "None yet. We're still tracing evidence and suspects. Blade is no where to be found. I know he's out there. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't killed anyone yet, let alone a teenage girl and her brother." he answered, picking up the printed articles from his printer and handing it to her.

"Hm. For all we know, he could be out of New York." Stella asked, browsing through the papers.

Mac shrugged. He was determined to find Luke with whatever guts he had. Luke was a very strange convict, in a way, but not the hardest to find. Mac searched through more articles.

"You don't think he's going to be doing any more stunts any time soon, do you?" he asked giving a more serious look.

Stella stopped. "No. He doesn't have anymore equipment. All of his co-workers left with a more theatrical shows when Luke was sent to jail. Other than that, we have nothing."

They both paused. Mac exchanged glances with Stella and hoped for the best. He sat with a small slouch and tried to think of possible locations of Luke's sightings. The building incident had been a decision connected to Luke so he could get passed them, but it was useless and completely wasted their time.

That was the last time he actually saw him, however. He was out there, but he just needed to know where to find him. He looked back up at his computer screen, which had went into Suspend Mode.

He moved the mouse and looked at the local news page. It had told him about the certain incidents about Luke Blade and possible encounters, but he knew that they were all fake. He had an interview with most of them, none fit the characteristics that he had.

Luke, somehow, had that characteristic that no one else had. Having only met him three times, Mac could always distinguish who it was. It was that betrayal attitude that Luke had always stored.

Mac looked at his computer screen. "Wait a minute. What's this?" he clicked on the link that was unfamiliar to him. It read: Possible Luke Blade encounters: Woman claims to have spotted Blade.

Stella looked over his shoulder.

Reading the article out loud to her with a mumble, he said:

_Woman named Sheryl Macherie claims to have spotted Mr. Luke Blade out side her house in Chathem. She says to have seen a crashed police car, matching the description of where Luke may have been. Sheryl also had said to have seen a girl and a small boy with him. More details coming when updated. Stay tuned._

Stella shook her head. "I don't understand. How did he end up all the way in Chathem?" Mac turned around to see her just before Don Flack entered the room.

"We have a case here. The article on the Action News may be correct. A cop had just witnessed the same vehicle that has blood printed upon it and they're recording it now. They'll send results." Flack told them, quickly trying to come up with air at the end. "They said that a few bags were left inside the car along with a bullet hole inside the cage where they may have escaped. License and badge number 31052."

Mac nodded. "That's them. Let's go."

At Chathem, New York: Crime Scene

Mac carefully examined the blood and placed it on a cue tip. It was just about dry, but enough to examine. Stella, on the other hand, carefully opened the officer door and found the bags inside. As she started to unzip them, she already had a clue whose it might've been. It had been the girl's. She searched through the clothes inside the duffel bag and took out what looked like to be a sketchbook signed by the name Loren Cromwell.

"Mac, I think I found something. Check this out. Loren Cromwell." Stella announced to him as he carefully took it from her, cautiously.

"Must be one of the victim's. I would call the search squad. She may be dead, or dying. Tell them to search for a few hours before going back to the station. We need to find this girl and the little boy, I don't know if they're related, but if they are, he may be dead too. Any clues on what she looks like?" Mac answered fully.

She shook her head. "No, but she did draw someone in here by the name of Andy. You think that's him?"

"Probably. Check the rest of the bag before we make any decisions. Make sure to check for photos or anything of the sort."

Stella nodded and went back to the bag. Another police car came up behind them, introducing Don Flack and Sheldon Hawkes. "We have confirmation, Mac."

Sheldon held up a bag that had shown a small cue tip with blood on it. "This came from the cracked window on the left side of the vehicle. The blood is completely confirmed that it is Luke Blade's."

As both Stella and Mac approached them, they were both baffled. "So that means he was trying to kill them and either of the kids put up a fight. But, we still have no evidence of any of the children's blood. Keep searching. Perhaps the blood on the trunk may be one of the Cromwell's. Let's not draw any conclusions just yet. Wait for the tests to be done." Mac said as he crossed his arms with his flashlight in one hand.

* * *

Well, I hope you like it. I kept that promise of the characters finally arriving. I tried to stay in character as much as possible. Reviews? 


	9. Promises We'll Never Keep

Chapter Nine: Promises We'll Never Keep

Back at the NYPD Station

Stella searched through the reminents inside Loren's bag. It contained nothing more than old clothing, a drawing notebook, and kid's clothes for her brother.

"We have a match," Mac told her, handing her the files.

She briefly scanned it.

"Turns out that Luke's blood is also on the trunk. But see, what stumps me is when we last saw them on East 120th, the children didn't seem to be injured. Why didn't the ambulance come in time?" Mac tried to explain. Being thoroughly confused left him in the dust on the situation.

"So what does the records show this time?" Stella asked, throwing the files on her lab table.

"That Loren and Andy Cromwell should be still alive. The dents on the car are from rocks, probably the only equipment that Luke could use at the moment."

She looked stern at him. Everything was slowly falling into place.

"The reason that they took the car is --" she began.

"The reason that they took the car is that Luke needed somewhere to go, rather than someplace that they could easily find him. Being a convict, he's already a scare tactic to the kids. He must be somehow armed. Since he escaped two days ago, he must've met up with someone else, including someone connected to the Cromwells, in order to find them."

Back at the Barn...

Loren waited worriedly for the search team to arrive. Luke seemed content as usual, but tried desperately to think of somewhere to hide rather than the burned barn. Andy waited anxiously close to Loren who kept peering out behind their hiding spot.

"We're going to get caught," Loren repeated as numerous black trucks began to arrive.

Luke bit the side of his nail in deep thought almost certain he wasn't going to get caught that day. But, in keyword: he wasn't going to get caught.

"I might have an idea. Keep look out." he instructed. The siblings nodded.

As he grasped the burned boards on the back of the barn where they were stationed, the chain from the cuffs seemed to also get stuck. They tied around whatever seemed to be inside. As nails seemed to dig into his flesh and the pain from the opened wound on his hand and wrists started to come again, Luke tried desperately to ignore it.

A large, yet thin wooden board broke, along with the nails, which now had seeped into his skin, leaving a few blood scratches along his palms. Thankfully, the hole that he had made was just big enough to fit all three of them inside.

"C'mon!" he said as he realized the cuts on his wrists from the cuffs were now larger since the chain had gotten stuck to a nail inside, and as he pulled upon the board attaching it, the cuffs dug deeper in his skin.

Andy quickly lept in, followed by Loren. Andy seemed to realize now what was happening, now that he saw the wounds that were left on Luke. He began to see that they weren't playing some strange game that he or Loren made up. This was real.

Loren sat quietly on a soft patch, which realized quickly as hay.

The barn was very dark, and dusty along with burned patches along the walls, easily recognizable as a fire. It was deserted. It had an upper flooring which just contained a few wooden boxes with written words as 'fragile.'

The awkward scent of burning hay and horses came. Andy was the first to notice.

"Aw, that's that smell?" Andy said, holding his nose.

"Sh," Luke said, holding his hand in his direction and quickly standing up. Footsteps could be heard coming closer.

"Check in here! They might have gotten inside." said a deep voice as three of them started to approach it as well.

"Well, if we can't get into that little hole, how the hell are they?" said another voice.

"Good point. Double check the houses and anyone local. Check and ditches or holes for any bodies and such. We'll double back here; this shall be our last point since it'll take the longest to search." said the third voice, female.

The running footsteps began to fade, as Loren, Andy and Luke let out a sigh of relief.

"Now what?" Loren asked, worriedly.

Luke looked at her straight in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

She looked at him for a moment. "N-Now's not the time for that."

"Well, it's going to have to be." he answered, squatting down a bit.

She was confused. What did he mean by that? He was completely serious with his reaction this time, and it almost scared her. Loren started to become afraid of something that he meant, and she didn't even know.

"You're going to have to go back." he said, finally. Loren paused for a second before speaking. She almost began to shout, but realized where they were at.

"You're not serious, are you?" Loren said, almost instantly after the thought.

Luke shook his head.

With the loudest whisper she could get, she finally disagreed. "No! I am not going to go back! I promised myself over and over that I would help you. And that's what I'm here to do!"

He nodded. Also, with the low tone of voice, however not yelling but content with his reactions, he answered with an "I know. But you've already helped me enough. You're going to have to trust me on this one. We'll see each other again."

Loren shook her head. She still disagreed with everything that was spilling out of his mouth. But, for a moment, isn't that what she wanted?


End file.
